Amstetten region – beer specialties of Hopfenbirnbräu, Bierkanter and s'Edla craft beer

Regular guests of the Hopfenbirnbräu microbrewery in Öhling praise the cosy atmosphere, friendly service and beautiful terrace and get their money’s worth thanks to the seasonal range and cooperation with other breweries. “The fourth tap in our bar at Mostviertelplatz 5, whose barrel is filled with outside beer, gives our guests a variety in the range,” says Dieter Zeilinger, Hopfenbirnbräu operator.

Oehlinger Hopfenbirnbräu Livens Up the City Centre

Öhlinger Hopfenbirnbräu brings life to the city centre, and guests appreciate the variety of varieties, but above all they enjoy Zeilinger’s home-made brews. “We like his IPA best, the India Pale Ale, which is lively, strong in taste and full-bodied,” say guests Thorsten and Birgit Vielmetti, who are convinced of the aroma of good beer.

“Since last year we have also been offering our own pear beer under the slogan ‘beer meets pear’. “After the main fermentation, the base beer undergoes a second fermentation phase with further dry hopping and the addition of pear juice, where it takes on the fresh fruity flavour of pear juice,” explains Zeilinger.

Dieter and Cornelia Zeilinger are particularly proud of their own beer cocktails, which they serve in July and August, and their Berninbier brand, a 40% distillate that they created together with Josef Warthofer and which is only available at Hopfenbierbräu. “By training to be a qualified beer sommelier, I can offer special beer-tasting courses and guided beer tastings, and the wooden tasting boards used were made by the residents of PVZ Mauer,” says Zeilinger, who has recently invested in a barrel-washing system.

Wide range of Bierkanter in Winklarn

Winklarner Bierkanter’s brewmaster and managing director, Michael Datzberger, can now offer twelve different types of beer. From a mildly bitter Viennese lager to a strong, creamy black ale and a berry-flavoured wheat beer, his beer specialties combine gourmet cuisine with a taste experience. In 2015, he began developing his own beers and brewing them on a small scale in the first attempts, before starting to produce beer at his Vierkanthof brewery at Haag 2 in Winklarn in 2018.

His collection is available in his farm shop, at Billa Plus, in regional self-service shops such as Seppelbauer and in partner companies on Moststrasse, such as Sunshine Gallery. “The hype around microbreweries that arose about ten years ago has faded away again. But everything is going well for me, development and production are going as planned and the business is developing well. The cooperation with Billa Plus is also going well,” says Michael Datzberger.

He grows his own raw materials, such as the barley from which he makes his cloudy natural beer, and the entire brewing process is carried out directly on the farm. “Each variety has its own character,” explains Datzberger. Connoisseurs taste the green hops, a fresh, slightly bitter young plant used for brewing beer, from our own Zwickl, which is offered seasonally in the fall.

Due to the high demand for Berry White, a wheat beer that meets berries, he developed Strawberry Liner, a fruity summer strawberry beer that is well received as a thirst-quencher and aperitif. “Joy, fun and regionalism are the key factors in the development and ultimately the emotion that you taste in the beer,” adds Datzberger, who already has many ideas for developing beers and beers in his arsenal for the future.

Falstaff Award for s'Edla City Beer

In collaboration with the marketing department of the city of Amstetten, brewer Joachim Schnabel developed Stadtluft, a skillfully drawn, full-bodied Viennese lager with a pleasantly bitter aftertaste. For this, it received 89 Falstaff points and was honored at the Beer Cup 2023. “The Stadtluft beer is inspired by and brewed according to an old recipe by brewmaster Anton Dreher from the Schwechater Brewery in the style of traditional Austrian beer,” explains Schnabel.

He also offers beer tastings with specially brewed beers for events with his own labels for weddings and celebrations. “The Viennese beer is now available in a 20-litre keg for €67, as well as a party-friendly cooler as a rental device including CO2 and cleaning for €12,” says Schnabel.

Beers from the regular range are available in many regional wine bars, farm shops, inns and grocery stores and are supplied either individually or in boxes or six-barrel decorated barrels made of wood by ARGE Sozialdienst Mostviertel.

For larger productions such as Stadtluftbier, he can use tanks from the Hölz ​​brewery in Wieselburg. For small productions as well as for his experiments, the brewmaster has invested in a new hectoliter system in his production facility at Agathastrasse 2 – 4 in Amstetten. “I am particularly pleased that the new operators of the Amstetner Stadtbrauhof are including Stadtluft beer in their range,” says the brewer.